An everyday tale of family and political life with a dollop of Formula One and various random thoughts on the side.

Thursday, September 05, 2013

In Full: Nick Clegg's speech to CBI Scotland

Like it says on the tin:

After the toughest global economic conditions in living memory, the UK economy is starting to turn a corner. And the signs
of recovery are encouraging.

Growth has doubled in the last quarter. Across the UK, more people are in work than ever before. And at a time when unemployment
is rising across the EU, private sector employment in Scotland has grown by 146,000 in the last three years.

Our focus on fiscal discipline is also
helping to keep interest rates low for UK businesses and families. We’ve
reduced
the deficit by a third as a percentage of GDP over the last three
years. And we’re borrowing £49 billion less this year than the previous
Government.

Of course, none of this is easy. There are
still major economic challenges to be overcome. Many families are
feeling the
squeeze. Some businesses still struggle to get the credit they need.
And, as a country, we are working hard to repair and rebuild our
economy.

That means doing what we can to unwind the
toxic legacy of the last Government’s economic model. Broken from the
start,
it didn’t do enough to support balanced growth across the UK. It was
lop-sided: over-reliant on one specific part of the financial services
industry to drive an unsustainable boom that left us vulnerable when the
crisis hit.

None of that can be fixed overnight. But bit
by bit, we are clearing up the mess we inherited. Our critics said it
couldn’t
be done. That the two parties of the Coalition wouldn’t be able to set
politics aside and put our economy and nation first. But we are proving
them wrong.And so are you. Because ultimately it is your enterprise and your hard work, as UK and Scottish businesses, that is making
the difference. And tonight I want to focus on our work together, government and business.

And the essential role that Scotland - as one of the UK’s biggest economic success stories - plays in realising our vision
for a stronger economy and fairer society across the UK.

Because, I believe that the best route we have to achieving a sustainable recovery lies in strengthening that partnership
between us.

For me, it’s a partnership that strikes that old-fashioned liberal balance between a Government that gets out of the way
of businesses to enable and empower them to do what they do best: create jobs and drive growth.

And a Government that steps in, when needed, to set the rules of the game essential to ensure a sustainable and competitive
economy; backed up with access to finance, modern infrastructure and a skilled workforce.

That’s why we’re making the UK’s business
environment one of the most competitive in the world Cutting corporation
tax
to one of the lowest rates in the G20; reducing the National Insurance
Bill for companies; protecting the flexibility of our jobs market; and
getting rid of unnecessary red tape.

And that combination of measures has helped make the UK the most attractive location for overseas investment in Europe,
with over 10% of the UK’s 2012 FDI projects coming to Scotland.

At every step of the way, in the Coalition, we’re fighting hard to create jobs, boost growth and make a genuine difference
to people’s lives across the UK.

That’s why we’ve committed to raise the
personal allowance on income tax. So that basic rate tax payers will get
to keep
all of the first £10, 000 they earn. We’ve already taken over 2 million
people out of paying income tax altogether. And by the time these
changes are complete, they will be worth around £700 a year for over 20
million basic rate taxpayers.

We’ve also extended our Funding for Lending
Scheme to provide more help to SMEs. And the latest figures show that
under
this scheme lending to businesses and homebuyers has increased. And
ahead of the official launch of our new £1 billion UK Business Bank, we
are already accepting proposals for the project’s first investment
round.

We’re also protecting and boosting investments essential to our long-term growth. Setting out, for the first time, a long-term
Infrastructure Strategy for 21st Century Britain,
with a major boost to capital spend here in Scotland.

This is supporting a £100 million roll-out of
superfast broadband to communities across Scotland; a £50 million
contribution
to safeguard and improve the cross-border sleeper service for Scotland;
and an investment in faster, more modern electric trains on the East
Coast Main Line. That’s in addition to our committed investment in a
national High Speed Rail Network.

HS2 is central to our 21st century
ambition to build a stronger economy in the UK. We know that our
competitors have
been investing in better roads and railways for decades. But the last
time we built a new main rail line north of London was more than 100
years ago.

Rail travel has doubled in the last twenty
years. With important routes like the West Coast Main Line hit by
serious
capacity issues. HS2 will help us catch up and compete, more than
doubling the number of seats between London and Birmingham and helping
to slash journey times to Scotland. This is an economic growth story.

Completing HS2 will help us to tackle the
North-South divide that’s scarred our country for too long. Giving eight
of our biggest cities, across the North and Midlands, the modern rail
links they deserve, as well as generating over £60 billion of benefits
for the UK.

The Core Cities Group estimates this investment will create around 400,000 new jobs, 70% of which will be based outside
of London. And in Scotland, we calculate it will boost the economy by around £3 billion.

And here I just want to respond to those who have criticised this project in recent weeks. That includes the ex-Ministers
who green-lighted this idea in the first place.

It’s a pattern, we see happening time and
time again in this country. When a deal has been signed, the temptation
to
undermine it from the comfort of opposition can be too much for some
politicians to resist. This clouds the debate and chips away at the
consensus.

But the alternatives they suggest – such as upgrading existing lines - aren’t viable answers. For example, the extra
capacity created through the £9 billion upgrade of the West Coast Mainline has already been filled.

We’ve tested our business case rigorously.
And we’re clear on what needs to be done to deliver this project on
time
and to budget. That is how Britain builds the infrastructure it needs.
And that’s how we compete, as a 21st century economy, with a modern
transport system that works to make us stronger.

And I’m pleased to say that we can raise a glass to the Bank’s first project here in Scotland: with over half a million
pounds committed to a new bio mass boiler at Tomatin Distillery, near Inverness.

But that’s just the start. And with our strengthened support for renewables through the single British energy market,
we are helping to create thousands of new jobs in Scotland.

And here in Glasgow, at Strathclyde University, we’re funding two new catapult centres to drive research, innovation and
business development in our Offshore Renewables and High-Value Manufacturing sectors.

These are investments that will help rebuild the UK’s economy because the UK succeeds when Scotland succeeds. And a stronger
UK economy ensures a stronger Scotland.

And it’s precisely because of that shared prosperity that I don’t want to see a barrier thrown up between Scotland and
the rest of the UK.

Right now, membership of the UK’s Single
Market gives UK businesses unrestricted access to over 60 million
consumers.
As set out in our business and microeconomic analysis paper, in 2011,
that was worth around £45.5 billion in trade for Scotland (excluding oil
and gas), that’s double the amount Scottish businesses sell to the rest
of the world. And the demand for Scottish
goods and services from England, Wales and Northern Ireland contributes
almost 30% of Scottish GDP. In turn the rest of the UK exports almost
£50 billion worth of goods and services to Scotland.

Now I’m not saying that all of this trade
will be lost, if Scotland votes Yes in 2014. I’m not here to create an
artificial
argument. But our latest research shows that the long-term effect of a
new border between our two countries - with all of the new rules,
regulations and systems it will require - will reduce Scotland’s GDP by 4
per cent, equivalent to £5 billion in 2012, over
the next 30 years.

The UK’s strong monetary and fiscal framework
also provides investors and businesses in Scotland with the confidence,
certainty and support they need to grow. This includes strong national
institutions like the Bank of England. And as a strong part of the UK,
Scotland also makes its global voice heard with a seat at the table at
the G8, the G20, NATO and UN Security Council.

This also means that Scotland through the UK’s membership can play a powerful part within the wider union of EU, shaping
legislation, negotiating budgets and driving the future of EU single market.

This time next year, the people of Scotland will be gearing up for one of the most important collective decisions you
will ever take together.

Those, who say Scotland could not be an
independent state are wrong. Scotland could be an independent state, but
my view
is that Scotland’s future is best served in the UK, as part of our
family of nations. And just because you can do something does not mean
you should do something.

In the 21st century when countries around the
world, within the European Union, in Latin America, South East Asia and
beyond are reaching out to cooperate, I believe that it would serve
no-one well if the nations of the UK family were to loosen the ties that
bind us together.

As the debate moves forward, it is becoming increasingly clear that the SNP will say anything to get the people in Scotland
to vote for independence. That they are trying to de-risk independence and make it seem less of a jump than it really is.

But separating our family of nations –
through the creation of a new international border – would inevitably,
mean a drifting
apart. So that the strength that we draw from 300 years of economic
integration; the solidarity of our common values that built the welfare
state and the NHS; and the security we share from standing together past
and present – all of that will be lost.
I will campaign proudly for Scotland to remain in the UK. Not out of
some nostalgia-driven attachment to the past. But out of a clear-sighted
look to our future.

Just two days ago the Chancellor was in Aberdeen to publish the latest
in our series of Scotland Analysis papers, which set out objective
expert analysis on the realities of Scotland becoming an independent
state. Everything points the same way: our nations
are better together than we are apart.

We have a great deal of confidence in our argument and that the facts speak for themselves. Already the answers put forward
so far by the nationalists about what an independent future for Scotland might look like keep changing.In particular, what the economic realities of separation will mean for your business.

You drive the Scottish economy. You create
the jobs and the wealth that makes Scotland a great place to live and
work.
And I urge businesses across Scotland to remain a voice of reason in
this debate, relentless in securing honest answers about the choice
Scotland has to make.

But if Scotland votes No next year, this won’t be the end of the story. A vote against leaving the UK family is a positive
vote to remain within it – and to be part of Scotland’s evolving position within it.

We can’t let this debate be set up as a false
choice between separation, on the one hand, and a status quo set in
tablets
of stone, on the other. Because the more pragmatic reality is – and
which business accepts – is that nations must adapt and evolve.

Our manifesto hasn’t been written yet, but I
know that in 2015, the Liberal Democrats will be standing on a platform
of
further powers to the Scottish Parliament. And as Liberal Democrats, we
will be working to build a consensus – with the other political
parties, as well as businesses and people across Scotland – to deliver
this.

Gladstone, Grimond, Steel, Kennedy and Campbell – these are just some of the giants of my party who, down the years, have
set the Scottish debate alight. And made a genuine, lasting difference.

And within the Coalition Government, we have a strong track record on this. Through last year’s Scotland Act 2012, we
took substantial steps to improve Scotland’s devolution settlement.

And I want to thank Michael Moore and his team, for their work with business to ensure this new settlement will be one
that serves the interests of Scottish business and Scotland’s communities.

The Act amounts to the biggest transfer of
financial powers – including major tax and borrowing powers – from
London to
Edinburgh in 300 years. That work has been a priority for me in
Government, because, as a Liberal, I will always argue that our country
is at its strongest and has its best shot at success when we share the
power within it more fairly between our Government
and our people.

And the Campbell Home Rule Commission defined
a truly modern settlement for a modern Scotland to be achieved through a
major transfer of financial and constitutional power from Westminster
to Holyrood: with Holyrood raising the majority of the money it spends.
So Scotland can determine its own destiny on the domestic agenda.

Fiscal responsibility is critical to a modern, mature parliament; one that has to balance the budget not just spend the
money. This also means much more autonomy and power for local councils and communities across Scotland, and across the UK.

This is a proposition that the Scottish Government seems reluctant to accept.For example, it says it will consider powers for the Isles of Scotland to become independent in the future – yet they
seem to be centralising power more and more.

The Liberal Democrat proposition protects the United Kingdom single market, one of the most important things for business.
A single currency; a single regulatory system; a single, open, free market.

With Home Rule we truly get the best of both worlds. Local power and authority right alongside global clout, social equity
and economic strength.

I am pleased that the other parties are embracing this agenda too. Following our lead, both Labour and the Conservatives
also have their own commissions on more powers.

Many others are joining the debate. I welcome
this. It is in the best Scottish political tradition to have a broad,
inclusive
conversation about the best form of Government for Scotland. It worked
to deliver devolution and it can work to improve devolution. And I urge
you to join it too.

Liberals believe that the structures of government, and the policies of government, should serve all of the people – that
they should serve the people of Scotland.

A thriving business sector creates opportunity and diversity as well, of course, as the revenue on which our public services
depend. So the future of devolution in Scotland must evolve in a way that enables your success too.

This train is leaving the station – debate is under way. So now is the time for you to express your views, to shape that
debate, to influence and shape a modern and successful Scotland within a strong United Kingdom.

In conclusion, the responsibility that rests on the shoulders of the people who live in Scotland today is considerable.
One year from now, you will decide whether Scotland remains part of the UK or not.

You won’t just be making that decision for now, for yourselves. But for ever – that’s because there is no turning back.
The future of the 300 year union is your call on the 18th
September next year.

What I believe, and what the evidence shows is that, the best future for Scotland is to be part of a strong United Kingdom.

That is how we build a stronger economy and secure a fairer society in a UK where every corner of our country prospers,
and where every individual – English, Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish – can succeed.